Battleship
by Master-Sora
Summary: [ orphanage era ] Battleship is a harder game to play than you may think. [ child fluff ]


B**a**t**t**_le_**s**hip

_Au_thor's **No_te_s**: Well, it's been a while. I'm going to skip the formalities and tell you that this story came about thanks to my little cousins and my sister being nerds with a Battleship game. My friend Rhianna told me to write a story about it, so half of the credit goes to her.

Also, if you like this story, I have two much better ones based around the same time period. You should check those out.

**THIS STORY CONTAINS LITTLE FFVIII CHILDREN **

&

**RANDOM, CUTE CHILD-LIKE BEHAVIOR**

Read at your own risk.

Dis**claim**_er_: Don't own 'em, so don't sue me.

* * *

"**W**ho wants to play Battleship?" Selphie sang out, waving the box all around. The plastic pieces inside clattered as she did this, drawing all the children's attention to her. 

Zell was instantly standing. He raced over to the little brunette and bounced in front of her. "I want to play!"

"Okay!" she grinned, making them some room on the floor. The other children went back to their various activities, with the exception of Seifer, who instead sat beside Selphie.

"How do you play?" Zell asked curiously, putting a finger on his chin as he stared at his board.

"Just call out a number and a letter on your board, and then put the little thingies in the holes." Selphie set up her ships with ease as Zell stared at her blankly. She raised her eyes to him and titled her head a bit, "What?"

"Uh…which thingies?" he frowned.

"These thingies!" she picked up a white piece and shoved it in his face. "The white ones mean you missed and the red ones mean you hit the ship!"

Zell blinked. What exactly was she talking about?

"Just set up your ships."

Luckily, Zell did know how to do that. He placed his ships all around the board, making an uneven square. He then leaned back to admire his work, a smile gracing his face. So he didn't know how to play very well? At least he made a pretty picture.

"I'll start!" Selphie told him. "Okay, how about…I7?"

"Um…" Zell shifted uncomfortably, looking at his pieces. His pale eyebrows knitted together as he traced his index finger down the side of the board. Seeing no ship anywhere in the row I, he said, "Miss."

"Aw, man!"

"My turn," he said as he put on his contemplative face. "A5?"

"Miss," she sang.

"So…what do I do now?"

Seifer rolled his eyes from beside Selphie and crawled over to Zell. He looked over his board for a minute, gaining a suspicious look from the smaller boy, before picking up a white piece and placing it into the hole marked 'A5.' Then, without saying a word, he moved back to his original position.

Selphie shook her head and picked up her next piece. As she opened her mouth to call her next shot, Seifer interrupted her with a cheeky, "C2."

"Seifer!" she yelled, hitting him over the head. "You're not supposed to cheat! You always do this! I want to win on my own!" In response, Seifer merely grinned at her.

From the other side of the room, Squall glared daggers at the older blond. He just couldn't play fair, could he? He snorted in annoyance, which caught Seifer's attention. The grin originally aimed for Selphie then moved to Squall, and Squall wanted to do nothing more than hit Seifer.

Selphie sighed loudly and asked, "Can we just get back to the game?" She then began to decide her next move, "Hm…how about…C2?"

"Selphie!" Zell shouted, looking at her in shock.

"Well?" she asked with a knowing look.

"Hit," he answered angrily.

Irvine, who had been previously drawing, stood up from the little table and picked up his toy gun. The game was continuing, but he had other plans. Slowly, he made his way over to Zell, stopping beside him. The blond raised his eyes when something was pressed into the side of his head.

"Give me all your ships," Irvine ordered, holding out his free hand and wiggling his fingers impatiently. He had a very serious look on his face, one that meant he was not up for any objections.

"Irvine, we're playing a game!" Selphie pouted. "Go away!"

Irvine smirked at her, and watched Zell as he glanced at the toy gun pressed into his temple fearfully. Zell then shook his head uncertainly, scooting away from the gun.

"Fine," Irvine clicked his tongue, "Say goodbye." The gun was then pointed at Zell's chest, and with an overdramatic half-bow, Irvine pulled the trigger and made the sound effects.

Zell instantly stood up, pointing an accusatory finger at Irvine, "I don't die that easily, thief!"

Irvine gave him a cocky grin and snatched up his battleship, running out of the room. Zell started after him, but was stopped by Selphie's outraged voice.

"We were playing a game, Zell!"

"Yep, but I'm bored now. Bye!" he gave her a two fingered salute and rushed out of the door.

Seifer grinned and proclaimed loudly, "I can play!"

"No, I'm done playing," Selphie told him pathetically as she began to clean up her side.

"I didn't get to play!" Seifer quickly stood up and stamped his foot.

"See if Squall will play with you, then."

"No," Squall answered when Seifer had turned to him.

"Fine!" he growled. "I just won't play with you when you ask!"

"Okay," Squall shrugged.

That had not been the answer Seifer was looking for. He yelled in return and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Stupid," Squall mumbled, picking up his Dr. Seuss book, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and going right back to reading.

It was just another day at the orphanage.

* * *

_Clo_**sin_g_**: As my aunt's boyfriend once said: "Aw, great! One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish? Green Eggs and Ham doesn't have anything on this book! This is Dr. Suess's best book ever!"


End file.
